


Running on Empty

by TheRookBook



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: AU where Lucy transfers to Mid-Wilshire, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Lucy met Jackson a while ago, Not Beta'd, OCs for story development - Freeform, everyone makes an appearance - Freeform, mutual trauma, potential FWB, the whole gang shows up - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:00:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRookBook/pseuds/TheRookBook
Summary: Lucy Chen, a six-year veteran of the LAPD, transfers to Mid-Wilshire after a routine traffic stops turns tragic. It does not take long before she makes fast friends with Harper and Lopez. Tim Bradford, however, makes things a little more difficult. When he notices something is off about the newest officer in the precinct, he doesn't let it go easily. Can he help her work through the past and start working towards the future?**AU**
Relationships: Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 24
Kudos: 166





	1. New Face, New Place

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to a rework of a story I posted then deleted! Thank you for taking the time to read! As always all comments and kudos are appreciated! Let me know if you're interested and/or what you think should happen!! More soon!
> 
> **Lucy's back story is different from the show. The arc of her kidnapping is been given to another character**  
> *I don't own the characters, well except maybe one to be introduced later! The plot is my own*
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @therookiebook!!

Lucy Chen walked into the Mid-Wilshire police precinct for the first time in her career. The first six years of her career were spent rolling around the streets of Malibu. Many of her former coworkers voiced their wonder of why she was trading in the dream assignment for the plain city streets of Mid-Wilshire. Her answer was simple. She needed a change of scenery and a change of personnel.

The last six months had been absolute hell and heartbreak. Being a cop, she knew that the job could take your life, shake it upside down, and sideways only to spit you out again for round two. When her sergeant told her that a slot had opened at Mid-Wilshire she jumped at the opportunity. Her former sergeant had been a good friend of hers before he was promoted. He knew everything she had went through and was always there to offer a helping hand. The position at Mid-Wilshire was a request of his to a captain friend just so she could refresh. Lucy needed to shake things up on her own terms.

Walking in she received a few looks from fellow officers as she made her way to the locker room to change. Being the new face, it was something that she expected. These people worked together every day, of course, they were intrigued at a new face in their house, she would be the same way.

She found the locker room quickly and found the locker that had been assigned to her through the other female officer getting ready for their shift to start as well. She changed quickly into her freshly ironed uniform. Her former sergeant forced her to use some of the mass amount of vacation hours that she had accumulated over the years to clear her head before the move. Truly, she wanted to refuse, but when he threatened her with forced leave, she conceded. She did not need to see a therapist again.

Lucy turned the corner of the lockers quickly, her haste to find the roll call room resulted in her crashing into the Latina officer leaned against the locker chatting to another officer. “Oh shit sorry,” she said reaching out to try and stabilize the woman in front of her.

When the woman turned to face her, Lucy was prepared for wrath and fury, but instead, she was met with a face that screamed friendliness. The woman’s eyes raked over her for a second before she spoke. “I haven’t seen you around here before. You new around here?”

Lucy nodded her head. “Yeah. First day here, was in Malibu for six years,” she explained simply.

She saw the confusion wash over the women’s faces. “Malibu,” the one in the back asked. “Why’d you leave there for here,” she continued with a laughing tent to her voice.

“It’s a long story,” Lucy replied flatly. She hoped that the two officers did not try to push any further right now. She was not ready to unravel the past just yet and she defiantly did not want her new coworkers to know her story before she was ready to face it herself.

The two women shared an understanding look before turning back towards her. “Lopez and Harper,” the lady in the back said motioning between them when she said their names as she introduced the pair. “You got a name?”

“Chen,” she said, reaching to shake their hands.

“Alright, we need to get to roll call. You’re sitting with us,” Lopez informed turning away from her and heading to the locker room door. “You coming,” she asked looking back at Lucy still standing beside the locker.

“Yeah. Thanks,” she said with a short smile before joining the pair as they walked down the hallway towards the roll call room.

They walked into the empty room, well except for the one officer sitting four rows back in the middle of the three chairs looking at his watch. “Six minutes Angela. You’re losing your touch,” he teased looking up at the trio of officers as they entered the room.

“I have an excuse,” she said motioning over to Lucy. “So be nice,” she chastised as they walked deeper into the room.

All the man did was roll his eyes as Angela pulled out the chair beside him and sat down. Harper motioned for Lucy to sit in the last chair beside the man as she sat in the row in front of the table. “Boots sit upfront,” he said never looking over at Lucy.

She heard the sound of a smack followed by a hush “what the hell” as the man looked over at Lopez.

“She’s not a boot, Tim. Two stripes,” she said pointing at the two arrows on Lucy’s sleeve.

“How was I supposed to know?”

“With your eyes.” Lucy could feel his eyes roll before three of the four fell into a comfortable conversation before the room started to fill with officers. Most of them immediately noticed Lucy and the questions started between them. She sat quietly beside the trio waiting for the sergeant to come in and start the meeting. This was her new beginning.

She did not have to wait much longer before the watch commander made his appearance in the room. Lucy watched as Grey across the room to the podium at the front of the room. She had met with him a few weeks ago when she first put in for the transfer. He knew her story. He knew why she wanted out of Malibu and she was grateful he had not relayed the information to others.

He was handing out assignments when his eyes landed on Lucy towards the back of the room. “Lucy Chen,” he called breaking her out of her thoughts causing her to look up at him quickly. “Welcome to Mid-Wilshire Officer Chen. I see you’re seated beside Officer Bradford, good. You two will be partners this week while Tim’s partner is on vacation,” he informed the pair.

She just knew that his eyes rolled as she nodded her head. He was probably looking forward to a week of riding solo.

“Is that a problem Officer Bradford,” Grey asked stepping out from behind the wooden podium towards them.

“No sir,” Tim replied, a smirk pulling at his features.

“Good. Maybe Officer Chen can teach you a few things,” the sergeant ribbed.

Lucy saw him laugh and his brows moved up slightly. That damn smirk still lingering on his lips. “Yeah. We’ll see about that,” he mumbled under his breath, stealing a sideways glance her way.

“Alright,” Grey said turning back to the front. “Everyone stay safe out there,” he said dismissing the crowd.

Tim whirled around in his chair to face her. Lucy, who was already looking his way, met his eyes. She could see him sizing her up as they stared at each other while the other officer cleared the room. She could already tell that he had almost a foot over her five-four frame and he could probably handle any fight she tried to put up easily, but she would make damn sure he did not get up if she could not.

She let her eyes settle on his form. She had dealt with officers similar to Tim Bradford throughout her career, but never had she been partnered with one. She knew his type. Former military, a hothead who came off as an entire ass only to hide his true self. Deep down there had to be a man that cared about people, he was just too gun shy to let it out. She could already tell that there were so many layers to this man, and she would not have enough time to discover them all.

At the same time, she wondered what he was trying to see in her. Was he able to see passed her defenses easily? Could he see the weight of the last few months she carried on her shoulders? Would he think less of her if he knew?

“Are you just going to sit there all day or are you wanting to do some actual work today, Officer Chen,” Tim asked breaking Lucy from her thoughts.

“Excuse me?”

Tim shook his head pushing his chair back and standing to his feet. “Let’s go, Chen,” he said walking away from her and out the door.

It was Lucy’s turn to roll her eyes. She pushed her chair back and followed behind him to the equipment room across the precinct. She rounded the corner and barely caught the black duffle bag being thrown her way. She glared at Tim, who only smirked.

With one bag slung over his shoulder and two shotguns in his hands, he walked over to the wall and grabbed their body cams. He tossed Lucy’s her way before securing his to his chest. “I’m driving,” he said brushing past her towards the garage bay.

\--

The first half of the shift had been painless. They answered a few calls, but words between the two were sparse the first five hours of the shift. Lucy was more concerned with trying to remember the road map of the street and the closets hospitals if they needed to get to one quickly. She knew Malibu like the back of her hand. She could probably give you directions blindfolded in the back seat, but Mid-Wilshire was a new set of streets, a new set of emergency rooms, and a new set of criminals.

It was well after lunch when Tim started to question her. “Why did you become a cop,” he asked, looking over at Lucy briefly before refocusing on the road ahead.

“Bounced around to a few jobs after college, but nothing satisfied that urge to do something different and helpful. Applied for the academy on my twenty-fourth birthday and the rest is history. You?”

“After two deployments, I decided I wanted to stay home and serve. No better place than home.”

“You’re from LA?”

Tim nodded his head. “Yep. Born and bred. You?”

“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. “Virginia. A town just outside Quantico.”

Tim did not reply, his focused steady on the road. “Why LA,” he asked after a few minutes of silence passed between them.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. It seemed to the farthest I could get away at the time. It jumped out at me when I was searching for plane tickets. Bought a ticket and was gone the next day. Never looked back,” she explained, trying to keep it as brief as possible.

Tim slowly brought the car to a stop on the side of the empty street before he looked over at Lucy. “Where are we?” The confusion spreading across her face caused him to laugh. “Where are we,” he asked again.

Lucy looked out the window for a street sign something that could give her a clue, but there was absolutely nothing that gave away their location. “I don’t know. On a road,” she replied sarcastically before turning back to him.

She nearly heard his breathless laughter as a smile pulled at his lips. “Get out,” he said flatly suddenly sobering up.

“What?!?”

“Get out,” he repeated.

“I am not getting out of this car.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed on her. “As the superior officer in this shop, you will do what I say when I say it. So, get out of the car Office Chen,” he all but growled at her.

Lucy looked at him shocked for a moment before she pulled the door handle and slid out of the car. “There. Are you happy,” she bit.

“Almost,” he said locking the door so she could not get back in before he was ready. “You can get back in when you know where we are,” he said as the car slowly started to roll forward leaving Lucy standing on the side of the road. “Just standing there won’t get you back in the car any sooner Chen. Move those feet,” he called out the window.

Lucy huffed as she started walking after the rolling vehicle. “Now tell me more about why you left Virginia,” Tim said once she reappeared in the window.

“Not much left to say, Officer Bradford.”

“Bullshit,” he said looking over at her quickly before looking forward again. “I bet you wanted to piss your parents off back then so you left for the other side of the country so they couldn’t control your actions. Becoming a cop? Definitely a move of defiance. You wanted to piss your parents off. That’s why you are here. I bet mommy and daddy tried to control every little move you made until you snapped. You walked out of their lives and never looked back.”

Lucy had to bite the inside of her cheeks as he started to try to figure her out. She tried to control the rage boiling over in her gut but failed. “I’m sorry to tell you this Officer Bradford, but you don’t know anything about me or my life. So, keep your thoughts and wonders to yourself,” she bit harshly.

They were the rank and held the same authority within the department even if he had a few more years than her on the job. She had worked hard to get where she was and no one was going to diminish that, not even the arrogant, asshole that was her temporary partner. She had a past, she had secrets, she had regrets, and she would bet everything that he did too.

She didn't get back in the car even after she knew where they were. She walked quietly beside the car as Tim puttered along. It was only when they received a call that would easily take them to the end of shift did she get back in the car. She needed a drink of something strong or several after dealing with him all day.


	2. One Drink, Two Drink, and More

After the first day, the rest of the week went to hell quickly. The next day, Lucy and Tim were stuck guarding an absolutely disgusting crime scene in some random back alley. Two early twenty-year-old females still with needles sticking out of their arms smelled and looked like they had been in the dry Los Angeles heat for at least a week, probably longer. Only to be found by someone else chasing the same high.

They received the call right after they left the station. The detectives and crime scene investigators took their sweet time to make an appearance leaving Tim and Lucy guarding the scene for the whole ten hours of their shift. As it started to heat up, the smell only got worse. Grumbles passed between the two as they waited. More than once she had walk away to get some fresh air as Tim just grinned at her amused. It was a patrol officer’s most dreaded assignment.

Almost as if the day before had been a day of rest, the next shift they did not stop. The calls did not stop from the moment they coded in until the end of the shift, they were on the go. Public intoxication, traffic accidents, domestic disputes, everything that could come their way did. The paperwork was a mile high by lunch, which was interrupted ten minutes in. The last portion of the day mirrored the start. By the end, Lucy was more than exhausted. She would not have to have any extra help sleeping tonight.

It was the last shift of the week when everything hit the fan. It was actually calm the first hours into shift until the call came over the radio. “Shots fired. We’re pinned down. Code three.”

Tim and Lucy shared a quick look before he reached down for the radio. “7-Adam-19 show us responding code three,” he said quickly as Lucy flipped on the lights and sirens. She had to push down the creeping feeling that was creeping over her. It was not going to happen again.

By the time they reached the scene only minutes later, the shooting had stopped. All in uniform were relatively unharmed, only a few scratches from where they dove for cover. The criminals on the other hand were worse off. Two were dead and two more were headed to the hospital with little chance to survive.

After checking on everyone, Lucy and Tim were sent back on patrol. The weight of the possible alternate endings crashed on her once they got back in the car and pulled away from the scene. Her head leaned back against the headrest as buried memories pushed their way to the surface.

_ It was a routine traffic stop; well it was supposed to be. Lucy had clocked the white Audi going one ten down Highway One towards Santa Monica. She hit the lights and sirens as they sped after the car trying to catch up. Lucy looked over the Jameson beside her as the SUV roared to life beneath them.  _

_ A small smirk pulled at her lips as the car slowed and pulled over, seeing their lights in the rearview mirror. “Alright boot, you take the lead on this one,” she said pushing her door open and slid out of the car.  _

_ “Yes ma’am,” the rookie said getting out of the car himself.  _

_ Lucy stood back watching while Jameson approached the window to talk to the driver. She watched the scene in front of her intently. It was an honor within the LAPD to be able to train the next wave of recruits trying to make them the best police officers possible. She had to make sure that he was progressing along the process smoothly. He was four months in and learning quickly. He was always willing to learn more than any other rookie she had trained before.  _

_ She saw Jameson crack a small smile at the driver before the started back towards their vehicle to run the information. The driver called after him and Jameson turned back towards the white car. Lucy saw the movement from the backseat, but her warning was too late as the bullets erupted out of the car in both of their directions.  _

_ She hit the asphalt trying to make herself as small as possible as the Audi roared to life and screeched as the driver floored the gas escaping down the highway. “Jameson,” she yelled scurrying over to where her rookie laid bleeding on the side of the road. One hand grabbed for her radio as the other pressed against the bleeding hole in his chest. “Officer down,” she yelled into the radio. “Highway one, mile maker two-thirty-four. White Audi headed south. Suspect is armed and dangerous,” she continued to yell before dropping the radio to focus on the rookie underneath her hand.  _

_ Her hands never left his chest as she pumped his chest trying to give him a chance until others arrived. They tried to pull her away from him to take over, but Lucy resisted. She had to save him. He was her responsibility. It wasn’t until Sergeant Davis arrived on the scene that they were able to pry Lucy away from the rookie. She knew he was gone as Davis hauled her away. His glazed-over eyes staring straight towards the blue sky. The EMTs shared a look and one shook his head. The Sergeant had to hold her up to prevent her from collapsing as the medics made the declaration. Time of death: 15:38.  _

Fingers snapping brought her back the present. “Chen. are you even listening to anything I’m saying,” Tim asked breaking her from her memories.

Her head shook quickly before she looked over at him. “What? No. Sorry,” she said quickly.

Tim glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before refocusing out the windshield. “I’ve been talking to you for the past five minutes and you’re just staring mindlessly out the windshield. Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere. Sorry, it’s not important,” she mumbled slouching back in the seat.

Tim hummed beside her. “It’s not good to keep things like that bottled up inside. Trust me, I know.”

“With all due respect Officer Bradford. I don’t need your advice,” she said sharply.

His eyes flickered over to her once again, but he didn’t say anything. Neither said another word to the other the rest of the shift. They returned to the station to finish up the mountain of paperwork that they had amassed over the course of the week. Lucy went one way and Tim went the other. She could feel his eyes on her from across the room where he sat at a large round table doing his work. Her week of riding with him was over. His partner would be returning their next shift and Lucy would be free. She knew he was a good cop, she learned that in just the handful of days the rode together.

She finished up her paperwork rather quickly, only fifteen minutes after the end of shift. “Enjoy your days off Officer Chen,” Grey said as she passed by his office after changing out of her uniform and heading towards the door.

“Yes sir,” she said giving him a tiny smile.

Ten minutes and a handful of blocks later, Lucy walked into a little bar a few blocks away from her apartment. She knew it was a cop bar and that there would officers from her shift there, but it was within walking distance of her apartment. A few drinks and she would be just fine to make it home.

She didn’t know what made her walk into the bar that night. Maybe it was the first week in a new precinct, the overwhelming presence of being around Tim Bradford all week, or just the memories that the drinks helped keep buried deep. She drowned the first shot quicker than the bartender could fill her second glass. She was four deep before she realized it. The burn of the tequila as she swallowed would go away eventually. The fifth glass was on her lips when the familiar smell of spice and whiskey filled her senses. Lucy swallowed the clear liquid before she looked over at him. Of course, he would be here.

“Chen what are you doing,” he asked sitting his own empty glass down on the bar.

“Drinking,” she said hearing the slur of her words herself. She tapped the bar signaling the bartender for another shot. She was trying to run from something, and the alcohol was the only thing that could help her hide from it. The man behind the counter looked up at Tim, who slowly shook his head. He was cutting her off. She had caught his attention as soon as she walked in. How could she not?

“Yeah like a damn fish,” he said pulling out his wallet. He handed the bartender a stack of bills, enough to cover both of their tabs plus a hefty tip. “Let’s get you home. Where do you live?”

“In an apartment,” she said a playful smile on her face.

If she hadn’t been three sheets to the wind, he would have stolen that silly smile right off her lips with his. Instead, he rolled his eyes helping her stand to her feet. His arms around her waist as he walked them out of the dive bar towards his truck. “I guess we’re having a sleepover at my house then until you sober up,” he said putting her in the passenger side of the Chevrolet before walking around and sliding in himself.

The radio’s soft mumbles filled the silence of the cab as he drove them through the city towards his house. Once they arrived, he helped her slide out of the truck and into the house. Tim laid her down on his bed and pulled the covers over her form as she laid unmoving in his bed. Walking over to the dresser, he pulled out a pair of black sweats and an old t-shirt before sitting them on top of the dresser for her in the morning. He grabbed his own pajamas before starting to walk out of the room.

“I fucked up,” he heard her mumble. “Its all my fault.”

Tim looked back at her from the bedroom door. “Sleep tight Chen,” he said simply turning the light off and pulling the bedroom door closed leaving only a tiny crack. Tim settled onto the couch in the living room. Cujo immediately laid under his dad’s hand that was hanging off the couch hoping for a few scratches just behind his ears. Tim reward the pup without thought. He should have been focused on the replay of the Dodger’s game on the TV, but his eyes instead focused on the closed bedroom door across the way.

He knew what it was like to run from the past. He has done, still does it, but it’s not something he’s proud of. He has had his own trials and tribulations that he worked through and some that still linger to this day. Things that he would never be able to forgive himself for no matter what.

What was her story? What was she running from? What was she trying to drown with tequila? It was all questions that he would have to ask her. He knew the weight that came with guilt all too well. If he could help her he would, he promised himself as his own eyes started to slide close after a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye! Thanks for reading!! All comments and kudos are appreciated! More soon!! 
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @therookiebook!


	3. you're not alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! It's been a hot minute. With the hype surrounding the season three premiere, it made me want to write and this is what I came up with! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think! More soon!!  
> Still not beta'd. ¯_(ツ)_/¯. Mistakes are my own.  
> Also, remember for the purpose of this fic, Lucy's background is different and her TV arch is given to another character.

They didn’t talk about it.   
  
It was just after five in the morning when Lucy opened her eyes. Immediately, she knew she was in trouble. Her head was pounding she wasn’t even in her own bed. She still had her clothes on at least that was a positive. What exactly happened last night?   
  
Now she had to sneak out, maybe leave a note and pray to never see the guy again. Grabbing her shoes from nearby, Lucy held them in her hand as she walked to the door. Silently, Lucy pulled the bedroom door open with every intention to sneak out as quickly and quietly as possible, but the sight before made her freeze in the open doorway.   
Tim Bradford, the big bad, tough as nails Tim Bradford, was passed out on the couch. A pit bull laid sleepily under his hand that hung over the edge of the couch. A light snore filled the space as Lucy stood just looking at the sight before her.   
  
How could someone who made most of her last week absolute hell be nice enough to make sure nothing happened to her last night? She knew there were layers to Tim. Everyone has layers, she has layers that she shielded herself behind. He tried to come off as a hard ass that didn’t care, but deep down beneath the scars and layers, he did.   
  
She should have woke him up, told him she was leaving, but instead, Lucy decided that she would face that later. She crept across the living room towards the door. Pulling the door open quietly, Lucy’s breath caught in her throat when she heard Tim mumble from the couch. His words were barely understandable as he shifted in his sleep. The clinging of the dog’s collar echoed in the room as the pup stood up and shook away sleep. His paws padded across the floor towards her. “Bye buddy,” Lucy whispered leaning down to give him a rewarding scratch.   
  
She waited outside on the porch, the house thankfully staying quiet behind her meaning Tim was still asleep until her ride arrived. Lucy walked across the yard with haste. “Thank you so much,” she said slipping into the passenger seat of the black sedan. “You are a lifesaver,” she added with a smile looking over at her friend beside her.   
  
“So, who was it,” Jackson asked looking over at her with a teasing smile. It wasn’t his first time picking her up from a random house after a night of drinking. Lucy met Jackson a few years ago when Malibu and Mid-Wilshire worked a case together when he was a rookie. They were fast friends. They took turns picking each other up from houses after nights of drinking, but lately, it felt like it was more and more Lucy being the one picked up. Jackson had met his boyfriend, Sterling, roughly seven months ago and his nights of one-night stands came to a halt.   
  
“You don’t want to know.”   
  
“Oooh, that sounds interesting. Spill,” he demanded.   
  
Lucy shook her head with a small smile. “Jackson, my head is pounding. Can we please do this after a nap and coffee?”   
  
Jackson eyed her skeptically for a moment before rolling his eyes in defeat knowing she was not going to give him any more information until later. “Fine,” he huffed focusing on the road before them. “But later, you are telling me everything since I had to get up at five on my off day to come pick your ass up.”   
  
Lucy nodded slowly in agreement. “Later,” she agreed as Jackson put the car in the drive heading towards their new apartment.   
  
Lucy didn’t exactly tell Jackson everything that happened the night before after she woke up from her nap. She did tell him that nothing had happened, yet the look on Jackson’s face told her he did not believe her. It was the truth though. She omitted the name, but the story was the truth. She didn’t exactly know everything that happened the night before herself, only one person knew the whole truth, but she was going to keep her distance and hope that he decided not to bring it up.   
  
Her two days off passed in a blink of an eye. Jackson was gone most of the time at Sterling’s leaving her alone. She spent the days tidying up the apartment. Drinking ample amounts of tea. A different one for every mood. During the downtime, she found herself just sitting in the silence of the apartment. It gave her time to think about everything going on in her life.   
  
She could not stop her thoughts from drifting back home to the east coast. Her parents tried to call her after she left, but Lucy sent their calls to voicemail. They couldn’t talk her out of the decision she made even though there were times she thought twice about the choice herself. But Lucy loved her job, she loved what she was doing.   
  
She was thankful for Jackson. During one of the most difficult times of her career, life even, he was there for her. Never would she be able to repay him for the late-night talks and cry sessions, for picking her up when she was down. He truly was an angel.   
  
In a blink of an eye, it was Tuesday. Lucy drug herself into work running late and with zero coffee in her system. Her attempt to ignore Tim and pretend like the other night didn’t happen was foiled when she walked out of the locker room to find him leaned against the wall waiting for her.   
  
Lucy caught his eyes before looking away quickly. Maybe if she walked away fast enough, he’d leave her alone. She was just about to turn the corner of the hallway towards roll call when she heard him call from behind her. Her eyes slid closed as she stopped. She could hear him slowly walking up behind her. Taking a deep breath, Lucy turned around to face him. “Tim.”   
  
“Are you okay,” he asked point-blank.   
  
She could tell that this wasn’t something he normally did, yet she could see the tale-tell signs of genuine worry on his features. Was he worried about her? Why? They only met a week ago. “I’m fine,” she replied shortly. “I don’t need you to check on me.”   
  
Tim rolled his eyes looking away from her, shaking his head. “You didn’t wake me up. How did you even get home?”   
  
“A friend.”   
  
“A friend,” he repeated, his tone making it more of a question. “You should have woke me up.”   
  
“Why? So, we could have this talk in your living room instead? I’m fine. Listen, I appreciate what you did the other night, but I don’t need you checking up on me. Okay?”   
  
She could see Tim start to tense as she talked no matter how hard he tried to hide it. His head nodded shortly. “We need to get to roll call before Grey,” he said flatly before leaving her in the hallway alone. Lucy stood there for a moment longer trying to convince herself that she was in the right no matter how wrong it felt.   
  
Lucy walked into roll call mere seconds before Sergeant Grey walked in the back door. “You good,” Jackson whispered after she sat down in the empty chair beside him.   
  
“Yeah. I’m good,” she lied, faking a smile looking at him briefly before focusing on the commanding officer behind the podium.   
  
“Alright folks,” Grey called getting the room to fall silent immediately. “It doesn’t look like there are any pending calls meaning that night shift did their jobs,” he jabbed playfully. “Meaning…we get to be proactive this morning. Getting to know the people that are on our beats. Officer Nolan, what is a way that we, as police officers, can get involved in the community,” Grey asked the older officer just barely off his rookie year.   
  
Nolan just sputtered trying to find the right answer. “He’s talking about foot patrol, boot,” Tim chastised from the back of the room causing the room to erupt in a short laugh.  
  
Grey held up his hand trying to get the room to quiet down as he tried to contain his laughter. “That is correct officer Bradford and since you’re so eager to blurt out the answer, you will be joining officer Nolan on foot patrol this morning,” Grey smiled towards the back of the room. Lucy could imagine the scowl that Tim now showcased. “Don’t worry Bradford, I wouldn’t force you to pair with Nolan. No, you will be paired with officer Chen this morning.”   
  
Lucy looked up at Grey quickly. Her questioning look was clear on her face as Grey looked over at her. “Is that a problem officer Chen?”  
  
“No, sir,” Lucy said, shaking her head slowly. “But, what about Bradford’s partner? Aren’t they supposed to be back this week?” It wasn’t that she did not like Tim; she had just wanted to keep her distance for a few days until he got off her back.   
  
She could see the amusement building in Grey’s eyes. “After a week of riding with Bradford, you already don’t like him? I’d say that’s a record. So, officer Chen do you not like working with officer Bradford,” he questioned, taking tiny steps her way.   
  
“What I was meaning sir, was that…”   
  
“Was what?”   
  
Lucy cleared her throat quickly, swallowing any argument. Instead, she could suffer through today. It was only one day after all. “It’s fine, sir.”   
  
“Mhmm,” he hummed. “Alright, folks that’s all I got this morning. Stay safe out there,” he said, walking back towards the podium. “Oh, Bradford,” he called, turning back towards the room. “Grab some sunscreen you’re going to need it,” he said with a wink, laughing to himself as he collected his files.   
  
“So, what happened between you and Bradford last week,” Jackson asked, intrigued as Lucy started to push herself away from the table.   
  
“It’s nothing, Jackson. Don’t worry about it. Talk later,” she said, turning back towards him briefly before walking out of the room towards the garage bay. She was driving today.   
  
Lucy clipped her body cam to her chest before getting their war bags from the supply cage and heading towards the car. She was already buckled up when the passenger side door opened, and Tim slid in. He looked over at her through the corner of his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m letting you do this,” he grumbled as Lucy started the car.   
  
“Letting me do what?”   
  
“Drive. I like to arrive places alive and in one piece,” he continued to grumble.   
  
One of Lucy’s brows shot up in question. “I am a good driver,” she defended.   
  
“Uh-huh,” he said, buckling his seatbelt and pulling it tight. “I see the dents and scratches on that orange car of yours. When you have to say you are a good driver, you’re only trying to convince yourself that’s the truth. It’s like Lopez saying that she can cook, and I’ve tried her cooking, she can’t. Just get us there alive.”   
  
Lucy rolled her eyes as she put the car in reverse. Well, she thought it was reverse anyway. When she hit the gas pedal, the car went forwards instead of back. Luckily, she slammed the brakes before they hit the wall in front of them. Tim’s head whipped towards her. His eyes wide, and Lucy had to suppress a laugh. “Sorry,” she mumbled, putting the car in reverse and easing them out onto the road towards downtown.   
  
\--  
  
“Jesus,” Tim huffed when Lucy pulled the car against the curb. “At least I’m alive,” he continued to grumble before pushing the door open and sliding out.   
  
Lucy sat in the car for a moment trying to keep her eyes from rolling. Her eyes followed Tim as he walked to the front of the patrol car. His eyes scanning over the exterior of the vehicle trying to find something, anything to complain about. “You coming sometime today, Chen,” he asked, locking eyes with her through the windshield. This time she could not stop her eyes as they rolled. Why did he always have to be such an ass?   
  
“See anything to complain about,” Lucy asked joining him at the front of the vehicle.   
  
“Not yet.”   
  
They walked in silence for a few blocks. Lucy took the opportunity to talk to the business goers, tourists, and everyday pedestrians on their journey while Tim stood silently behind her. One hand resting on his gun, his eyes constantly surveying the area around them just in case something went down.   
  
“Are you going to stop and talk to everyone,” Tim asked after they walked away from the latest pair.   
  
“It’s called community policing for a reason,” she replied quickly.  
  
“If you want some of the best coffee in LA, try to just walk for the next few minutes.”   
  
“Sorry if my favorite toy as a kid wasn’t scowl at me Elmo like you,” Lucy retorted sharply.   
  
She saw Tim only shake his head in response. His face expertly hiding any emotion that he had. “I preferred a big wheel actually.”   
  
“Of course you did,” Lucy laughed to herself as they walked. She wasn’t surprised in the slightest. She could imagine a little Tim covered in sweat with dirt up to his ears from peddling the big wheel up and down the neighborhood streets. He probably was apart of some type of neighborhood club that all the boys were apart of, hell he probably was the “club” president.   
  
“What’s so funny,” he asked, seeing the lingering smile on her face as they neared the coffee shop.   
  
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”   
  
Tim hummed in response as they walked up to the shop. He pulled the door open for her to walk in. Minutes later, they walked out of the shop a cup of steaming coffee in their hands. She wasn’t surprised that he drank his black vastly different from hers that contained so much creamer and sugar that it barely could be called coffee.   
  
“7-adam-19,” dispatched called over the radio as they started back down the sidewalk.  
  
Tim pulled his radio from his belt, bringing it up to speak into it. “Go ahead,” he replied as he and Lucy came to a stop outside a shop.   
  
“7-adam-19, reports of a 415 at 916 Venice Blvd please respond.”   
  
“10-4, 7-adam-19 responding,” Tim said quickly before holstering his radio back in the slot on his belt. “That’s two blocks from here. Let’s move.”   
  
“So much for a coffee break,” Lucy muttered, taking one last long swig of her coffee before tossing it into a nearby trashcan along with Tim’s.   
  
By the time they reached the address, even after running the two blocks, Lopez and West were already on the scene. “About time,” Angela teased as the two entered the lobby. Tim shot her a quick look which only made the woman smirked. “We thought we were going to have to go up without you two.”   
  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are we going or not?”   
  
“After you,” Lopez smiled cheekily at them.   
  
They sound the source of the disturbance as soon as the elevator door opened. A screaming match was currently taking place down the hall. A vase crashed against the wall just in front of the group of officers as they approached the office.   
  
“Hey,” Angela yelled stepping into the doorway. Both occupants of the office turned their attention to her and fell silent immediately. “What is going on here,” she asked, her voice stern. Both tried to explain their side of the story at the same time, trying to talk over each other which resulted in them yelling at Angela. “Hey! One at a time,” she demanded. “Blondie, you’re first,” she said gesturing to the woman standing behind the desk in the office.   
  
“This crazy wench stormed into my office accusing me of sleeping with her husband. Which I never would anyway. The man looks like a cross-eyed toucan. Maybe if she kept him satisfied, she wouldn’t be so quick to think he was cheating on her,” the blonde woman said snidely. Lucy and Jackson had to bite the inside of their cheeks to stop their laughter from escaping. Casting a quick glance Tim’s way, Lucy caught a slight twinge of his mouth from an oncoming smile.   
  
“You bitch,” the woman behind the desk yelled starting towards the other.   
  
Jackson grabbed the woman before she could reach the desk. “Alright, that’s enough ladies. Ma’am do you want to press charges of trespassing,” he asked the blonde behind the desk.   
  
“If it gets this wench out of my face, yes.”   
  
Jackson moved the combative woman out of the room quickly. He read her her rights as he marched her down the hallway towards the elevator. “He wasn’t even that good of a lay anyway,” the blonde muttered.   
  
“Wait,” Tim said trying to make sure he heard her right. “You did sleep with her husband?”   
  
The blonde behind the desk laughed. “Why yes. Not that I’m going to tell her that. Easily the worst time I’ve ever had in bed. Although, you and I, Officer, we could have a good time together,” she said, her voiced laced in sultry.   
  
They heard Lopez laugh down the hallway where she was following after West and the screaming woman. “Yeah. No, not my type,” Tim said, effectively popping the woman’s balloon.   
  
“I could make it your type,” she said, throwing a wink his way.   
  
Tim’s face was caught in between awkward and embarrassed as a smile threatened to pull at his lips, but he forced it away. “Do you want use to formally trespass her from the office,” Lucy interjected trying to save Tim some trouble.   
  
“No,” the blonde said after a moment. “The poor woman doesn’t need me adding something to her already overflowing plate”   
  
“Alright. If you have any more questions or if she shows back up, don’t hesitate to call,” Lucy said, giving the woman one of their business cards.   
  
“If it gets Officer hunky back here, I’ll call ASAP.”   
  
Lucy couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping her this time. Tim grinned at the very ambiguous woman. His thumb pointed over his shoulder quickly before Tim turned and walked away with haste. “It must be nice to work next to that every day,” the woman commented after Tim fled.   
  
Lucy looked at her unimpressed for a moment. “No, he’s a bit of an ass,” she replied smoothly before turning to follow after Tim. She caught him just as the elevator dinged. “That happen often,” she asked after the doors to the elevator closed leaving the two of them alone. The elevator started down as Tim remained silent beside her. “Ya know it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” she continued.   
  
“Drop it,” he said flatly, never looking her way.   
  
Suddenly, the elevator came to a jerky halt as the cables squealed above the machine. The lights inside the box cut off leaving the two in the dark. Tim tried to hit any and every button to get the machine to work, but there was nothing. Even the emergency call button went unanswered. “Shit,” he muttered.   
  
\--  
  
Lucy’s hand beat against the metal door as it had for the last five minutes. Her cries for help only reaching the ears of Tim, who was currently trapped with her in the metal box. Her finger repeatedly pushed the emergency call button, but it too led to a dead end. They were stuck in a metal box, away from everyone, alone. So much for her attempts to keep her distance from Tim. Almost as if someone was having fun with her misery.   
  
“It’s not going to work,” Tim said from the back of the elevator. “You’re just wasting time and energy.”   
  
Lucy sighed, accepting the fact that he was right. Tim was sitting in the far corner of the elevator already resigned to the fact that they would be here for a while. “At least I’m trying,” she whispered lowly to herself.   
  
“Heard that.”   
  
“Of course you did,” she uttered into the elevator door. With a huff, Lucy’s back slid down the side of the elevator to join him on the floor of the metal box. Silence filled the space between them. Tim stared at the wall across from him as Lucy pulled her phone from her pocket. She tried to call, text, even email Jackson, but there was no service. She was trapped. This truly was cruel.  
  
She busied herself with her phone playing games that she had downloaded for times of boredom, Tim stayed quiet still keeping his eyes on the opposite wall. She was occupied with the games for a while until a little circle appeared on the screen before it turned black. “No, no, no,” she cried softly trying fruitlessly to will the phone to turn back on. Leaning her head back against the metal wall, Lucy inhaled deeply before huffing an exhale.   
  
“Is being stuck in here with me that bad,” Tim spoke for the first time in what felt like hours, his voice carrying an amused questioning tone.   
  
Lucy’s eyes shifted over to him to find him already looking at her. “Not you, just the situation,” she replied shortly.   
  
“Because of the other night?”   
  
Lucy nodded silently. Her eyes trying to stay away from him. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, he would not push it any farther. He would pick up on the signs that she didn’t want to talk about it. Was she ready to talk about it?   
  
“It wasn’t your fault. I don’t know what you’re blaming yourself for, but you can’t beat yourself up over it. Life sucks trust me I know, but you have to let it go. It’s just going to drag you under farther until you are too deep and there is nowhere to go. Don’t let the guilt you feel consume you, it will eat you alive.”   
  
Lucy’s jaw tightened as he spoke. Her eyes focusing on the roof now. She had heard this type of talk before from friends, colleagues, bosses even, yet it never worked. Nothing ever worked. She would always feel like she was the one to blame. She was supposed to protect him, keep him safe, keep him alive and she failed. “It’s easy for someone who’s life is all sunshine and rainbows to say that.”   
  
Tim chuckled across from her. His head shook as a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “My life is anything but sunshine and rainbows. I’ve seen it all, Chen. I’ve been through some shit, but I came out the other side. You will too, you just have to let yourself move on. Have you talked about it with anyone,” he asked after a moment of silence.  
  
She had tried to talk about it, but when she started to bring it up, she would shut down. She didn’t want to burden someone else with her problem. When she did go to a therapist, nothing would come out. Most of the time she sat on the couch staring down at her hands unable to find the words. No one else cared to listen before.   
  
“No. People think that seeing a shrink makes you weak. As a woman, being a police officer, I can’t let them see me as weak. Feels like the cards are already stacked against me, why give the dealer a winning hand?”   
  
Tim shook his head quickly. “It doesn’t make you weak. In fact, I think it makes a person stronger. Being able to face your feelings and not run from them isn’t something to be ashamed of. I wouldn’t think you were weak; you’d be stronger than I am.”  
  
Was that an invitation? Was Tim Bradford, the thorn in her side for the last week, offering to be a listening ear? Was she hearing him right?   
  
Lucy stayed quiet letting his words fully wash over her. She looked down at her hands lying in her lap briefly before she looked up at him. Her eyes locking with his. Here goes nothing. “My boot. My last boot,” she started tensely. “Four months in, he got shot. He died under my hands. Routine traffic stop. I saw the passenger reach for the gun, but it was too late. They shot at me, at him. I ducked for cover instead of making sure he was okay. It wasn’t until after the car fled that I realized he was hit. He died under my hands because of me.”   
  
“That wasn’t your fault,” Tim replied quickly. “Four months in there are supposed to be taking the lead on things like that. You can’t blame yourself for that. Nothing you could have done would have changed anything.”   
  
“I should have taken the lead-”  
  
“Then you would be dead,” Tim interrupted her sharply. “You can’t seriously think that would be better.”   
  
“Sometimes, but that’s where the tequila helps.”   
  
Tim’s scuff filled the air. “It’s ridiculous.”   
  
“Yeah well. It is what it is. Enjoy your sunshine over there for a moment.”   
  
“My partner, when she was a rookie, was kidnapped by a serial killer. He buried her alive in the mountains in a barrel. We found her by some stroke of luck. She was unconscious, not breathing when we pulled her out. She was dead, but they brought her back. I was responsible for her and yet I let her get hurt,” Tim explained trying to let Lucy know she wasn’t alone.   
  
“But she lived.”   
  
Tim shook his head. “That’s not the point. I told her to go out with him. I pushed her to him, and she almost died because of it. You see Chen, I blamed myself. Nothing she could do or say could have changed my mind. Then I realized that she didn’t blame me. She couldn’t make herself blame me no matter how much I blamed myself.”   
  
“Congratulations,” Lucy commented flatly.   
  
Tim’s eyes rolled at her. “Listen, I’m not trying to tell you how to deal with it. You can carry it with you, let it weigh you down until it crushes you. Or you can let it go, slowly, quickly whatever you want to do. I’m just trying to give you a hard-won perspective. You can keep going the way you are and wind up unemployed and wasted at a random bar every night or you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps and be the officer that he knew. Be the cop he wanted to be. Don’t destroy his memory, remember who he was. Make yourself better for him.”   
  
Lucy was silent for a while just letting his words wash over her. He was right and it made her mad, but at the same time, it gave her a sense of peace that had been elusive for a long time. Relief, for the first time, started to replace the overwhelming guilt that had made itself at home on her shoulders. “Thanks,” she said after a while, swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill over.   
  
“You’re welcome. One more thing, if it ever gets too much or you just need someone to talk to, don’t be afraid to reach out. In this job, we see the best and worst of people; it can get overwhelming. I know this isn’t Malibu, and you’re still new here, but you have people here too. Whether that be me or whoever you want. You’re not in this alone.”   
  
Just as Lucy was about to reply, the lights to the elevator blinked on. The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Tim and Lucy looked up from the floor to find an amused Angela and Jackson standing in the doorway. “Well, what happened here?” 


	4. I Couldn’t Do It

It should not have felt weird sitting at the bar alone, but it did. She had the same glass sitting in front of her that she had been staring at for the last four hours. The ice had melted long ago, no doubt watering the drink down. She had picked the glass up when the bartender set it down even brought it to her lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to tip it back.

It had been two weeks since she last had a drink. It wasn’t much, but to her, it felt like a milestone. The cravings were there, but she had resisted them so far. It was something about Tim’s talk during the elevator that made her want to change. He did have a point. If she did keep going the way she way, it was going to keep her on a downhill slope.

She owed Jameson that much. She could at least try. Being the best cop possible was what she wanted to do since she joined the LAPD. Everyone loses their way every once in a while, all it takes is for that one person or one thing to set them on the right path again. Tim Bradford did that for her.

She didn’t know what made her reach for her phone. Lucy needed to talk to someone, and he was the only one that could understand. She contemplated calling him for a while as she just stared at the phone sitting beside the drink. The lock screen brought a sad smile to her face. It was of her and Jameson. He had taken her phone and taken the picture of both of them before setting it as her lock screen. It hurt too much to change it.

It took her a few minutes after scrolling to his number in her phone for her to actually press call. She was expecting the phone to just ring in her ear, but Tim picked up on the second ring. “Hello,” he said, and she could hear the tiredness in his voice. They had gotten off shift at six, over four hours ago. “Lucy is everything okay,” he asked when she stayed quiet.

“Yeah,” she said softly after a moment. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have called,” she said quickly. Lucy started to pull the phone away from her and hang up, but she could hear his voice rising on the other end.

“Lucy! Lucy,” he yelled into the phone. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“I don’t know. I came to Russel’s after shift and I’m still here,” she trailed off softly. She heard him sigh into the phone. There was a tug on something deep inside that hurt from his sigh alone. Next, she heard the sound of keys jingling and a door closing while Tim stayed silent.

“I’m on my way. Okay? I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said as his truck came to life. “I’m on my way,” he repeated.

Lucy sat the phone down on the bar. She kept the line on watching the seconds turn to minutes trying to distract herself. She could hear the roar of the engine as Tim drove to her, no doubt breaking the speed limit and maybe a few more traffic laws too.

Lucy’s eyes stayed fixed on the bar before her. Half her attention was on the phone that continued to count while the other half was focused on the drink. She heard the bell of the door jingle in the back of her mind, but Lucy tried not to pay it any attention.

It wasn’t until a hand reached in front of her that Lucy looked over. Tim’s finger pressed the red button on her screen ending the phone call. He sat down on the barstool beside her. Lucy could see the concern in his blue eyes through the low light of the bar. She never had anyone look at her like that before.

“You called?”

Lucy slid the full glass of alcohol across the bar, so it now rested in front of him. “I couldn’t drink it,” she admitted softly looking away from him. “I wanted to. I ordered it, picked it up. I was just about to drown it, but I couldn’t make myself do it.”

Tim was silent as she explained. His gaze shifted from her face to the full class in front of him now. Before she called, his night was going about as boring as it always was. He was too tired after shift to make plans, so he settled on watching a replay of El Dorado on tv. It was nice to be able to relax after shift. Old westerns and sports gave him an escape to not care and let his guard down inside his home instead of always being on guard.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing really,” Lucy admitted softly. “I don’t even know why I’m here,” she said, and Tim could hear the choppiness starting in her voice. “I tried to leave, but I couldn’t.”

Tim nodded his head slowly. His eyes shifted back over to her. “Do you want me to take your apartment?”

“Please,” she said softly.

“Okay,” he said sliding off the barstool. Tim reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed a couple of bills down on the bar beside her untouched drink. His habit of paying for her drinks didn’t go unnoticed by either of them.

“You don’t have to do that,” Lucy spoke looking up at him.

“I know, but I wanted to. Come on,” he said reaching out for her. Lucy’s hand landed in his hand effortless almost like it was a missing piece to his puzzle. Tim led her out of the bar and to his truck, her car was nowhere in sight. She must have walked or had someone drop her off because she had no intention of being sober enough to drive herself.

Tim opened the door to his truck and helped her climb inside even though she didn’t need it. He shut the passenger side door softly before walking around to the other side quickly. “Where am I going,” he asked after sliding into the cab beside her and starting the truck.

“It’s just a few blocks away,” she said as he started to back the truck up. “Turn left.”

It was only a handful of minutes later that Tim pulled the truck to a stop outside Lucy’s apartment building. “Thanks,” she said quietly in the silence of the truck’s cab.

“Not a problem, Lucy.”

Lucy gave him a soft smile as she reached for the door handle. “I guess I’ll see you later. Have a good night, Tim. Thanks again,” she said pushing the door open and sliding out.

Tim watched her through the windshield of the truck as she tucked her hands in the pockets of her jacket on her walk. Don’t do it, don’t do it, he tried to tell himself, but his hand was on the door handle before he could stop it. “Lucy,” he called jumping out of the truck, following after her. “Hey, wait.”

Lucy turned back towards him at his voice. “What are you doing,” she asked once he caught up to her.

Tim gave her a small smile. “Just want to make sure you get home safe.”

“Well, mission accomplished,” she played.

Tim rolled his eyes, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Let me walk you up.” He could see her trying to make herself tell him she didn’t need it, but ultimately, she conceded. Her soft ‘okay’ barely reached his ears. Victory.

They walked side by side in silence towards the building. Tim held the front door open so that she could walk in first. The elevator ride was much different from the last time they were trapped together in a similar machine. He couldn’t stop his mind from drifting back to the hour or so that they were trapped in the metal box.

The ding broke him out of his memories once they reached her floor. He filed it in the back of his mind that she lived on the third floor of the building. “This is it,” she said as they came to a stop outside apartment ‘3c’. “I guess this is the end of our adventure.”

“I guess so,” Tim replied, stepping closer to her. He knew he should back up, step back, get away, but something about her was so intoxicating that had him wanting to get as close as she would let him. “Have a good night, Lucy,” he said, his eyes flickering from her eyes down her face until they rested on her lips and back up again. 

Lucy swallowed heavily as he continued to look at her. Her mind was screaming at her to open the door and walk away, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be there at this moment. She wanted to be close to him. Lucy turned away from him for a second as she unlocked the door and pushed it open before she turned back to him.

She closed the distance between them until they were only inches apart. She looked up at him. Lucy could see his throat move as he swallowed. Was he nervous? “Do you want to kiss me,” she asked with a whisper.

“No,” he replied just as softly as she asked. His eyes flickered again from her eyes to her lips and back again.

A smirk pulled at her lips when he swallowed heavily again. “You sure?”

“No.” His hands were on her hips quickly closing the short distance between them. Their lips collided in the hallway outside her apartment. At that moment, everything could have ended, and she would have been happy. It was Lucy that moved them backwards into the apartment as they fought for dominance. One of his hands left her to shut the door behind them and to lock it without effort. 

Lucy’s hand-pulled at the bottom of his LAPD t-shirt as she continued to move them backward into the apartment. They toppled over when Lucy’s legs hit the edge of the bed. A laugh escaped her as they broke apart.

“Are you sure,” Tim asked, breathlessly hovering about her. His heart racing in his chest. Lucy’s eyes were full of lust as she looked up at him.

“Yes,” she replied quickly. Her hand on the back of his neck pulled him back down until their lips connected again. She never wanted anything more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!! Thanks for the support so far! More soon! 
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @therookiebook!! Let me know what you think!


	5. what i can't have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back at it again! *Insert puppy eyes* I love them. Geez, I love them. Hope you love them in this fic as well!  
> As always, thank you for reading! Be sure to let me know what you think! 
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @therookiebook! (still not fully beta'd)

“You’re riding with Officer West today,” Grey informed Lucy as she stood in front of his desk after the morning roll call. “I know this last month hasn’t been easy, but you are doing a good job here, Officer Chen.”

Lucy gave him a slight smile looking down. “Thank you, sir,” Lucy said looking back up at him. “There’s actually something I want to ask if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” Grey responded leaning back in his office chair.

Lucy swallowed clearing her throat. “Um, I know that a new batch of rookies will be graduating from the academy in two months. I was wondering if my name could be tossed in the hat for being a TO.”

Grey’s head titled a little to the right, his brows raising as she talked. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this. If it’s too soon, you can take as much time as you need.”

“I appreciate it sir, but I think it’s time,” she replied confidently. “I’ve talked to someone recently about everything that happened and I’m ready,” she said trying to hide the nerves she was feeling.

Grey continued to look at her for a moment longer before he broke. “Okay. I’ll think about it. We will see what happens.”

“Thank you, sir,” Lucy said giving him a small smile. “I better go. Jackson is probably wondering where I am,” she continued before turning and walking to the door. “Thank you, Sergeant. For everything,” she finished pushing the door open and slipping out of the office back into the squad room.

“There you are,” Jackson cheered seeing Lucy from across the room. “Everything good?”

Lucy nodded her head. “Yeah. It’s good,” she said offering him a smile. It felt good. It finally felt like her life was slowly getting back to normal. She felt secure at work. There were people at Mid-Wilshire she could talk to if she needed to. Everything felt like it was coming full circle.

Was it too soon to be a TO again? Probably, but she knew she had to face her fear instead of running from it. It had been over seven months since it happened. It was time she stopped running from the past. She owed Jameson that.

Jackson and Lucy walked towards the supply cage together. He was talking, but his words were in her ear and right out the other side. She was too busy in her own thoughts. It was when she turned the corner and ran right into a body that Lucy snapped out of her thoughts. Tim’s arms reached out her holding her up, so she didn’t fall. “Sorry,” she said shimming out of his grasp. Her skin burning under her uniform where his hands had been.

Lucy could feel the heat rising on her cheeks as she locked eyes with him. He had seen her naked, several times now, why was she acting like a schoolgirl. Lucy scratched behind her ear looking away from him quickly. “Hi Tim,” she murmured peeking back up at him.

“Lucy,” he said, his voice staying firm. Still, it sent a shiver down her spine following the trail of his lips from last night when---nope. Nope, she could not think about that right now. 

“You’re Officer Chen,” the black-headed woman beside Tim asked effectively changing Lucy’s focus.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Lucy answered with a smile.

A hand was thrust out towards her quickly. “Patricia Ryan, but everyone calls me Pat. I’ve heard a lot about you, Officer Chen,” the woman introduced as they shook hands. “I’m Tim’s partner,” she smiled.

Lucy’s head nodded, her eyes moving from Pat to Tim and back again. “I’ve heard a lot about you too,” Lucy tried to lie convincingly. She wasn’t totally lying. She had heard about what happened to her in the past, but that was about it. Tim didn’t bring her up that much during their time riding together or any other—nope, still can’t go there.

“Listen,” Pat continued, “Thanks for putting up with him for a week for me. I know he can be difficult,” she said nudging Tim playfully with her elbow. Lucy caught Tim’s eyes roll before he forced a smile to his face.

“Not a problem. We actually had a good time getting to know each other,” she replied as a smirk danced across Tim’s features. The fire was reignited somewhere deep within her and Lucy fought hard to suppress it. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

The other woman continued to smile at her. It was Jackson that decided to speak next. “Well, we need to get out there. See y’all at the food trucks for lunch?”

“Sounds like a plan.” “Yeah,” the partners before them at the same time.

“I’m going to get our gear,” Jackson told Lucy walking away down the hall.

“It was nice to meet you, Lucy,” Pat said her way. “Meet you in the shop in ten,” she told Tim walking away and leaving the two of them alone.

“You too,” Lucy replied softly but Pat was too far away to hear. “She seems nice.”

Tim chuckled. “Yeah. She’s a good cop.”

Lucy looked up at him. “Are you just saying that because you trained her or…? Seems like an ego boost to me.”

His eyes narrowed on her. He could see playfulness in her eyes that brought a smile to his face. “Nah. She’d be good without me, just not as good,” he played. “Anyway, you have any plans for tonight?”

Lucy shook her head. “Not really. Probably going to curl up on the couch and get caught up on ‘The Bachelor’ or something. Might read a book, everything is kind of on the table at the moment.”

“I have a thing to go to tonight, but I could stop by after,” Tim started, and Lucy knew what he was starting to suggest. She couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her lips. “Ya know if that’s something you would be interested in,” he covered, giving her an out if she wanted it.

“Is that something you would be interested in,” she asked teasingly.

“Maybe,” he replied with a smile. Lucy wanted to grab him at that moment, pull him close and kiss him, but she couldn’t. They were at work. People were all around them and she wished she didn’t care for just a moment.

“We’ll see.”

“Okay. Well, it was a nice chat Officer Chen. See you and West at lunch,” he smiled at her before he turned heading towards the garage bay.

Lucy stayed in place watching him as he walked away. Her eyes ogling every inch of his backside. Damn, she was hooked and sinking quickly. “What’s going on with you and Bradford,” Jackson asked sneaking up behind her causing Lucy to yelp whipping around to face him. He had both war bags on his shoulders, a shotgun in each hand.

“Jesus, Jackson,” she exclaimed. “Don’t sneak up on people like that. You about gave me a heart attack,” she said rubbering her chest, feeling her heart racing underneath.

He had a knowing smirk on his face as he looked at her. “Anything you care to share,” he questioned raising a brow her way.

“No,” she said quickly, probably a little too quickly. “We need to go,” she said turning away from him. “Crime is not going to stop itself.”

* * *

Jackson had dropped the Tim thing so far. Instead, he rambled about different tv shows, movies, what music he was listening to, and Sterling. For the last month, Jackson’s time at the apartment had been scarce. He was spending most nights at Sterling’s leaving Lucy alone in the apartment. It also meant that they weren’t as up to date in each other’s life as normal. Not that Lucy was complaining entirely. It just gave her an opportunity to sneak a certain hot, skillful, man in whenever she wanted to without question.

“Hello? Lucy, hello,” Jackson said, waving one hand in her face, the other staying on the wheel as he drove them through the city. “Are you listening?”

“What? Sorry. What were you saying,” Lucy asked diverting her attention to Jackson instead of the gutter.

Jackson looked at her sideways for a moment before refocusing on the road. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem sort of spaced out today.”

“Jackson,” Lucy answered in a whine. “I’m fine. Best I’ve been in the last year. There is just a lot on my mind. Nothing to worry about.”

A red light turning red forced the car to come to a stop. Lucy refocused her attention out the windshield, but she could feel Jackson’s eyes on her. He was trying to figure her out. Trying to use their bond to look around the charade she was trying to put up. A gasp made Lucy look over at him quickly, as a smirk crossed his face. “You got laid,” he said, teasing evident in his voice.

“What? No,” she tried to lie but it was unsuccessful by a long shot.

“Oh my! yes, you did,” Jackson cheered. “How was it?”

Lucy groaned in response. Her head hitting the headrest as her eyes slid closed. For a split second, visions of Tim in her bedroom danced under her eyelids, before she forced them open. “Jackson, please, just drop it.”

Her unwillingness to answer only piqued his interest more. “Oh, so it was that good? Do I know this person?”

“No. It was just a one-night thing. I’ll probably never see him again. So, if you could please, please just drop it. It would mean the world to me if you just let it go.”

Jackson continued to look at her for a second before the red light turned green and the car began to roll forward again and he was forced to look back on the road. “Fine,” he said, giving up for the time being. “Just know that I’m happy that you finally let yourself relax again. It’s about time.”

Lucy said a quick thanks to whoever was watching over her. Truthfully, she did not know exactly what level she and Tim were on. They were friends, right? Could she classify them as friends? Friends…with benefits maybe? She didn’t want someone else in their business before they could figure it out themselves, it would just make everything an even bigger mess.

Lucy peeked over at Jackson as he drove them through the city. She could see the wheels turning in his head and she couldn’t stop the smile from crossing her face. “Hey, J,” she said causing Jackson to look her way slightly. “It was good, so damn good.”

Jackson’s howl of encouragement filled the car before dispatch came over the radio sending them on their first call of the day.

* * *

Lucy sat at a table picking at the hot fries in front of her. Jackson was still at the food trucks waiting for his order. She was not feeling food at the moment but settled on some fries just to put something in her stomach. Her eyes caught Tim’s form as he stood turned away from her. He was deep in conversation with Nolan and Harper as they too waited on their food. She saw a smile cross his face, and Lucy couldn’t stop one from forcing its way onto hers.

“He’s hot, isn’t he,” Pat asked sliding into the chair in front of Lucy following her eyes to where they were locked on Tim.

Lucy snapped her attention to Pat in front of her. “I’m sorry. What,” she asked, trying to act like she had not heard the other woman. Pat only gave her a knowing smirk in return.

“Don’t be bashful, Officer Chen. You wouldn’t be the first cop that tried to get with him. We all know he’s hot, no shame in admitting it.”

“Um ha, have you…,” she started to ask but her voice trailed off.

“God no! I mean, I tried. A few months after my rookie year, but he shut that down. Basically, he held me at arm’s length and said it was never, ever going to happen. He’s tried to date, but everything just fizzles out sooner or later. His ex really did a number on him when she left,” she said before taking a bite out of her burrito.

“His ex?”

Pat nodded her head as she chewed her food letting Lucy brew in her thoughts for a moment. “His ex-wife. Former narcs cop. She got hooked on heroin and left him.”

Half a fry was hanging out her mouth as Lucy looked from Pat back to Tim. They had not talked much about either of their pasts. He knew about as far back as seven months ago, but she knew hardly anything about him. Not that their history was at the forefront of their minds when they were together. There was typically another activity on their minds when they were together and alone, and it didn’t involve talking.

Soon their table was filled with other officers that brought conversation that filled the brief silence of the table. Jackson squeezed himself beside Lucy forcing Nolan to move over. Tim managed to seat himself across from Lucy beside Pat. Occasionally, she would catch his eyes on her before he looked away quickly.

Lucy let herself look at him without shame. Really letting herself take in the sight of him. Pat was right, he was hot. He had just a bit of scruff starting to come in and Lucy wondered what it would feel like when he—nope. Nope, can’t think of that right now.

He consumed her thoughts. He was everywhere in her brain. Every recent memory worth remembering, every moment that brought a smile to her face, he was there. Tim Bradford was starting to run her life without knowing it. Being with him felt safe. He felt safe.

He had seen her on her plummet to the bottom. He could have turned away and let her slip to the bottom, but he didn’t. He helped her when others did not when they wouldn’t. He saw her slipping and caught her. Tim brought her back to the surface. No matter how much he tried to convince others he didn’t care, he did. Tim Bradford cared.

“Are you coming tonight,” Jackson asked, nudging her with his elbow breaking Lucy out of her thoughts. Her eyes broke away from Tim to focus on Jackson. All other eyes were on her.

“What?”

“I asked if you were coming tonight,” Jackson repeated. “Lopez is getting promoted so we’re having a little celebration. We were wondering if you were coming.”

“I don’t know, J. There’s so much I have to do at home,” she tried to make an excuse.

Jackson’s brow shot up. “I don’t think reading alone on the couch is considered a lot to do,” he played.

Lucy looked at him blankly. She started to respond when Tim spoke up from across the table. “If she doesn’t want to go, it’s not a big deal West. Lopez was your TO. Chen don’t feel bad if you don’t want to go.” Damn, he was good at giving her an out.

Lucy gave Tim a slight smile peeking his way briefly. “I’ll think about it, J,” she answered shortly. That seemed to satisfy Jackson for the time being because he turned his attention back to the others in the group as the conversation started again while Lucy refocused on her fries.

She had just picked up the last fry when dispatch came over the radio. “7-Adam-15. Reports of a domestic dispute at 1340 Sierra Bonita Ave,” the woman behind the mic informed.

“And that’s our sign,” Jackson said with a huff as they both started to push their chairs back. “We will see you all later,” he said as they started towards the shop parked nearby.

“10-4, 7-Adam-15 in route,” Lucy said pulling her radio from her belt just before she slid into the shop. Jackson started the car and a moment later they were flying down the road, lights and sirens blaring headed towards the destination.

* * *

Jackson’s fist pounded on the oak door for the third time before it was pulled open by a disgruntled woman. The black bags under her eyes gave away her tiredness. Her blonde hair was untidy and greasy. The white shirt she was wearing had dirt and no telling what other stains on it. “Can-can I help you,” she asked with a stutter, folding her arms across her stomach.

“We received a call about a possible dispute at this residence,” Lucy said, stepping forward and taking the lead. “Are you the only one here?”

“Um no. My boyfriend is in the bedroom. I’m sorry to bother you officers, but things just got a little heated in the bedroom,” she explained. Lucy and Jackson both nodded their heads. They knew that during times of passion things could get loud.

“Can I get your name for the report,” Lucy asked taking her notepad out of her pocket. “I just need to run your name real quick and we will be out of your hair.”

“M-my- my name,” the woman asked, and Lucy again nodded her head. “It’s Isabel Br-,” she started but was cut off by a man screaming from the back.

The man tottered into view from around the corner. His steps were uneasy and wobbly having to use the wall to stand up straight. “You dumb bitch,” he slurred walking closer. “Getting the damn cops involved in our business. This doesn’t involve no one but us.”

Lucy stepped forward in the house, putting herself between the drunk man and the woman. She could hear Jackson instructing the woman to step outside. “Stop right there, sir,” Lucy demanded, but the drunk man kept getting closer.

“Make me, you dumb bitch,” he continued. Lucy pulled the taser from its holster leveling it with the man’s center mass. Lucy took her eyes off the man for just a second when the woman behind her started to argue with Jackson. When she looked back all she saw was the closed fist heading straight towards her. Lucy fired her taser just as the fist connected with the side of her face.

She shook the hit off quickly as the man continued to struggle against the jolts of the electricity from the taser. Lucy dove forward, hitting the man in the midsection sending them both toppling to the ground. She could hear Jackson’s footsteps as he rushed over while she struggled with the man beneath her. He managed to grab hold of Lucy’s arms before sending her flying through the air. Her back crashed into the wall, her arms hit a nearby table causing a glass vase to fall to the floor and shatter into pieces.

Moving to push herself up to continue the fight, Lucy’s hand ran across the sharp edge of a piece of glass. “Shit,” she muttered as blood started to seep from the cut.

Jackson looked over at her as he finally was able to turn the man to put him in cuffs. “You okay,” he asked trying to regain his breath from the struggle.

“Yeah. Going to need stitches though,” she huffed helping Jackson stand the guy up with one hand.

* * *

Thankfully they didn’t have to wait long for another unit to show up to take the disorderly man to the station. The other officers finished taking the woman’s report letting Jackson and Lucy dart to the hospital. They spent the rest of the shift waiting in an exam for a doctor to come in. Lucy’s hand was wrapped tightly in gauze and tape trying to suppress the bleeding, but she could see the red spot becoming bigger under the white tape.

Lucy sat alone in the exam room, her hand was still throbbing as she waited for the doctor. Jackson had offered to stay, but Lucy knew he was excited about Angela’s promotion party and she didn’t want to keep him away from it. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. Yes, Jackson. Go. I’ll be fine,” she said finally able to send Jackson away after twenty minutes of trying to convince him to leave.

It was thirty minutes after Jackson left that there finally was a knock at the door. Lucy pushed herself up expecting to see the doctor walking through the door, not Tim. “Hey,” she said surprised seeing him slip into the room before shutting the door softly behind him. “What…what are you doing here? Are you following me?”

“No. Jackson said something about needing to set up for Angela’s party. So here I am.”

“My knight,” Lucy played causing Tim to roll his eyes. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

“So sorry about the wait Ms. Chen,” the doctor said pushing the door open looking down at the iPad in her hand. “It says here you have a cut on the palm of your hand. How did that happen,” the woman asked finally looking up at Lucy.

“Got in a fight during a call,” Lucy replied shortly.

The blonde before her nodded in response. She made steady conversation as she unwrapped Lucy’s hand to examine it. “It looks like you will need a few stitches then you can be on your way.” The doctor left the room for just a minute before returning with a kit. She made quick work of fixing up Lucy’s hand with ease. “Officer Bradford it is good to see you again,” the blonde addressed Tim for the first time as she wrapped Lucy’s hand with a new fresh bandage.

“Yeah. You too, Doctor Sawyer,” he replied shortly.

“How is the side?”

“It’s good. No issues.”

“Good,” she said finishing wrapping Lucy’s hand. “Alright Officer Chen, it looks like everything is good to go here. Make sure you change the dressing every six hours for the next few days,” the doctor smiled. “You should be good to go. Just check in with the desk before you leave.”

“Thanks.”

The doctor left leaving just Tim and Lucy in the room. “Jackson told me to bring you some clothes in hope that you wanted to go to Angela’s party, but I can take you home if that’s what you want. Lopez will understand.”

* * *

“You made it,” Angela loudly exclaimed as Tim and Lucy walked over the long rectangular table that had everyone was sitting around. “West said you had something going on,” she said before taking a sip of her drink. Lucy held up her bandaged hand for everyone to see. A chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘ouches’ erupted from the table. “What happened,” the newly appointed detective asked gently grabbing Lucy’s wrapped hand.

“It’s fine. Just a cut and few stitches, you should see the other guy,” Lucy said with a smile as everyone else grinned.

“Let’s get you a drink,” Jackson says starting to pour Lucy a glass from the jug of beer sitting in the middle of the table.

“Uh I think I’ll just get a water tonight, J. Docs gave me some pretty strong medicine so,” she told her friend who could not hide the disappointment from his eyes. ‘And I’ve been sober for two weeks’ she wanted to add but held it inside. No one knew about her struggle, well no one except Tim at least. She didn’t want them to know. Then they would look at her differently and she really didn’t want that.

“Lucy,” Angela called breaking her out of her thoughts. “This is my fiancé Wesley. Wesley, Officer Lucy Chen,” she introduced the two.

Wesley leaned forward and shook Lucy’s good hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” the dark blonde-haired man said with a smile. “Angela has told me a lot about you. Nothing but good things,” he added when Lucy looked towards Angela surprised.

“It’s good to meet you too.”

A cold bottle of water landed in her hand causing Lucy to look over. She grinned softly at Tim thanking him for the drink. Lucy pulled a bar stool out sitting beside Angela as Tim stood closely behind her. She could feel his heat behind her, and she wanted to lean into it. She wanted him to get closer and drape an arm over her shoulder. When she closed her eyes briefly, Lucy could almost see it behind her eyelids. It looked perfect like everything she ever wanted that she couldn’t have.

Lucy lost track of time as she sat at the table listening to stories about the past. She couldn’t stop a smile from pulling at her lips as Angela told a story from her first year on the job. “If you’re going to tell the story, tell it right,” Tim instructed from behind them as Lopez started to dive into the deep details about a suspect they had arrested.

Lucy stayed quiet for the most part only a few laughs escaping her. She let Angela and Harper with a little assistance from Tim control the stories and conversations. “You ready to head out,” Tim asked leaning down to softly whisper in her ear.

With a subtle nod of her head, Lucy exhaled a deep breath as a shiver ran down her spine. God…she needed to control herself. “Alright. I think that’s enough,” Tim said as Angela finished up one final story. “We all have to work tomorrow and if we plan on being functional, we better call it a night.”

“Aww why do you always have to be the party pooper,” Angela whined looking back at him.

“It’s called being responsible. Maybe you should try it sometime,” he played to his friend.

Angela went to reply when Wesley spoke up. “I hate to be a downer here, but I agree with Tim. I think it’s time we head home. Big day tomorrow.”

Angela grumbled a reply and Wesley only smiled. “You taking him home Sterling,” Tim asked the actor because Jackson was way past the limit and in no shape to drive. Sterling nodded in response as he started to gather their belonging and began to help Jackson up. “I guess that means you’re stuck with me,” Tim said casting a smile down at Lucy.

“Oh joy."

The drive from Russel’s to her apartment was much quicker than she remembered it to be. She wanted it to be longer, she almost wanted it to be longer. Lucy wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. Tim stayed quiet as he walked Lucy up to her apartment. Lucy unlocked the door before she turned back towards him.

“Goodnight Lucy,” he said shortly and quietly in the stillness of the hallway.

“Goodnight Tim,” she replied just as softly. Tim gave her a small smile before he turned back towards the elevators. She wants to call him back. She wants him to come back. The need to feel his lips moving against hers was overwhelming. She needed him. She wanted him, but Lucy could only watch as he walked away leaving her at the door of her apartment.

Damn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! Let me know what you think!  
> More soon!! 
> 
> Is this the rise before the fall or is Lucy passed the worse part? Find out soon!


	6. a false play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not beta'd.
> 
> Jones makes an apperance. Fight me.

The third chevron was still fresh on his sleeve as Tim walked out of the locker room towards the squad room. Everything was felt like it was finally falling into place. He got the promotion that he had been wanting for years, but only got the courage up to take the test six months ago. He felt like everything around him was finally stabilized and he was ready to move on.

When Tim walked around the corner, he expected to see her just like he had every morning for the last year. Expecting this time, he didn’t. He couldn’t stop his brows from furrowing as his eyes scanned the room. Where was she?

He knew that she was staying with Jackson and Sterling last night, but he also knew that she had to work today. Lucy was never one to be late. Typically, she beat him out of the locker room. Her smiling face every morning was a highlight to his day. So, when she was not anywhere in sight of course he was concerned.

“Jones,” he called at the younger man who was walking through the room. “Have you seen Chen?”

“No sir.”

Tim nodded his head slowly. “Thanks.” Tim’s eyes once again scanned the room, maybe he missed her or maybe she just walked in without him noticing, but after a quick look around he still did not see her.

He did however see Angela. He saw the way she was looking at him and he didn’t like it. Her jaw was tight as she walked closer to him. He could see the water pooling in her eyes and the streaks from fallen tears ruining her makeup this early in the morning.

He couldn’t stop the dread from pulling in his stomach. A chill ran down his spine. His throat ran dry as she approached. “What…what is,” he asked, clearing his throat.

“Tim,” she started, her voice shaking, “I think you should sit down.”

His head tilted to the side; his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Angela looked down away from him, trying to find her voice to continue. “Tim…there’s been an accident.”

He stepped back slightly to prevent himself from toppling over. His hand landed on the padded office chair as his legs threatened to buckle under him. A weight that he had not felt before crashed over him. He saw Angela’s mouth keep moving, but he couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of his heart. Angela’s arms caught him as he started to collapse, other officers in the room turning their attention to the newest sergeant. The news spread around the room like wildfire set ablaze in a forest.

Angela pulled the chair that he was holding onto out before easing him down into it as the shock set in. “They found her car in the ravine about thirty minutes ago,” she said before falling into silence herself. Tim’s eyes bore aimlessly into hers; Angela shook her head slowly as tears spilled from her eyes.

He felt his lips quiver before he had a chance to bit his lip. His eyes slid closed as tears slipped from the corner of his eyes. His head tilted back and his heart broke. The heart that he spent the last three years rebuilding just for someone like her, cruelly being ripped from his chest. “I’m sorry, Tim.”

I’m sorry…

Sorry.

Tim shot up his bed. His heart pounding rampantly in his chest as his eyes bounced around the dark bedroom. Beads of sweat prickled on his forehead. He looked over beside him quickly in the darkness of the room. A breath of relief left him when he saw the body lying peacefully beside him. The alarm clock beside the bed illuminating ‘4:26’ in red numbers. They still had an hour and a half before they had to get up.

He tried to calm his racing heart as he laid back down beside her in the bed. His arm draped back over her side as he tried to wedge himself as close as possible to her. He wondered if she could feel his heart in his chest or if she would even know.

He buried his nose in her hair before taking a deep breath. Her shampoo had been a staple in his bathroom for three weeks. They had yet to talk about what they were actually doing. They were adults, if they wanted to have consensual sex then no one could stop them. Could he see a future with her? Yeah, maybe. They had not really talked about much of anything, they were friends. Friends with benefits.

Tim gently brushed her dark brown hair away from her shoulder so he could place a kiss on her bare shoulder. He ran a gentle line from her shoulder to her neck until he reached her neck tattoo only to start his way back down again. The little noises she made stirred up something deep inside him as he latched onto her skin just below her collar line so she could hide it easily. It wouldn’t be the first time and it probably wasn’t going to be the last. Lucy liked it when he marked her up in places they only knew about. It added a thrill to it all.

Lucy rolled over to face him as Tim pulled back with a smirk. “Good morning,” she groaned, her voice laced with sleep from being disturbed from her slumber.

“Morning,” he whispered, ducking his head to place a kiss on her lips.

“What time is it,” she asked, her eyes half cracked open and Tim couldn’t hide his smile.

“It’s about four-thirty. Go back to sleep.”

Lucy groaned as she pressed herself against him. “Why are you awake,” she mumbled turning her head into his chest.

“Just a dream,” he replied with a whisper looking down at her. He knew it was a dream, but it felt real. It felt like he had lost her. Even in his dream it broke him, he didn’t want to imagine what losing her would actually feel like. He wanted to know more about her, he wanted to know everything about her. He wanted her to know everything about him.

“Need to talk about it,” she asked cracking her eyes open to look at him.

“No. Go back to sleep,” he commanded softly.

Lucy hummed against him. She closed her eyes letting sleep claim her again. Tim laid himself back down beside her. Lucy turned over so that her back was pressed against his front. Tim’s arm once again found its way around her waist. His head hit the pillow and Tim’s eyes slid closed again. Hopefully, the nightmares stayed away.

\--

It started for Lucy the first time that she woke up in his bed. She had meant to leave afterward, but it was too late, and they had to work the next day, so she stayed. She slept with his arms around her that night, it was the best sleep she ever got.

He made her feel calm. He made all her worries disappear. Just being around him cast spread a blanket of security over her. Lucy didn’t know what they were. She knew what they had been doing for the last month, but they had yet to talk about what would come after. Would there be an after for them?

Did Lucy see a future with him? Maybe…yeah, it’s possible. She was not going to rush into a relationship, but she wanted something more. She almost needed something more, but she was not going to force it onto him. She didn’t want to scare him away.

The second time she woke up that morning was too hurried scratches on the door. Lucy smiled anyway, she loved Kojo. Lucy rolled over expecting to find Tim still resting behind her, but instead all she found was an empty bed. The covers were ruffled and tossed aside; the sheets turned cold. “Stop that,” she heard Tim say softly, but his tone still stayed commanding. Kojo barked as Tim pushed the bedroom door open expecting to be allowed in. “No,” Tim said squeezing through the small slip to keep the pup out.

“Hey, good morning,” he said as a smile danced across his features when he caught sight of Lucy laying there awake. Tim leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her lips before he sat on the edge of the bed. He couldn’t help himself. He knew he probably shouldn’t do it, but she just looked so damn gorgeous in the morning.

“Morning,” she replied after he pulled away slowly. “Have a good run?”

Tim nodded in response. “You should join us sometime.”

Lucy hummed. “Maybe one day, but that would require at least eight hours of sleep and I’m certainly not getting that,” she said with a smile.

“No. You most certainly are not,” he replied with a smirk. “But I think I know of another way to get you woke up in the morning.”

“Oh really?”

Tim nodded as he started to lean back down towards her. “Want me to show you?” Lucy nodded eagerly against the pillow. “Okay,” he said before kissing her lips again. “Follow me,” he said pushing off the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

Lucy watched him walk away from her. The basketball shirts that he wore plus the faded Los Angeles shirt made him nearly undeniable. She was in trouble, she thought as she tumbled out of bed to follow him to the bathroom.

\--

“What do we have,” Lucy asked walking up the scene. A smoldering car was pressed against an office building. The front end was crushed beyond recognition, there was no way she could definitely tell what the manufacture was just by glancing at it.

She was riding alone today meaning she was mainly the report car. She would go to scenes to help collect information for the reports or providing backup when requested. It was a day that let her rest and take it easy for a day when the week was beyond hectic.

“Single car accident. The driver is a thirty-one-year-old female. The car left the road and hit the side of the building, EMTs are en route to take her to the hospital,” Officer Jones informed gesturing to the woman sitting on the curb holding a piece of gauze against her elbow. “Possible DUI, we’ll need a blood test to confirm because she’s refusing to do a breathalyzer.”

Lucy shook her head slowly. “Someone have a few too many mimosas at brunch,” she asked and Jones nodded in response a grin on his face.

“Looks that way.”

“Did you get her information,” Lucy asked pulling out her notepad from her pants pocket.

Jones extended his notepad towards her. Lucy copied down the important information such as her name, date of birth, insurance, and contact information onto her own paper before closing the notepad and stuffing it back in her pocket just as the ambulance pulled up.

The pair stood back as the paramedics tended to the woman. One of the medics escorted the woman to the ambulance, while the other made his way over to the officers. “She’s lucky,” he said as he approached. “It could be a lot worse than it is. Will one of you be following us to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I am. Are we ready to roll?” The medic nodded quickly. “See you later, Chen,” Jones said as he started to turn back towards his squad car.

“Chen,” the medic asked causing Lucy to look up at him. “Lucy Chen from Malibu?”

Lucy eyed the medic suspiciously. “Yeah. Do I know you?”

The medic smiled at her increasing Lucy’s suspicion. “Kyle Sims,” he said extending his hand her way. “I worked a few of your scenes in Malibu. I transferred to this area a few weeks ago,” he explained as Lucy shook his hand slowly. “Anyway, sorry if that was weird,” he smiled letting go of her hand. “I just didn’t expect to see you out here. You just disappeared from Malibu and I never got to ask for your number.”

Lucy let a timid laugh escape her. “Are you flirting with me at an accident scene,” she asked tilting her head to the slide slightly, a teasing grin across her lips.

Kyle ducked his head; a nervous smile was on his face as he looked back up at her. “Maybe I am. Are you okay with that?”

Lucy looked away from him, her smile growing wider as she pretended to think to herself. “Maybe I am,” she said looking back at the paramedic before her.

“Sims, we’re leaving,” his partner's voice yelled from the ambulance.

“I’ll be right there,” he yelled, looking back at his partner who was closing the doors to the rig. “Anyway, do you have plans later tonight?”

“No.”

Kyle nodded his head slowly. “Meet me at the Smokehouse around eight tonight,” he asked stuttering briefly before continuing, “unless you don’t want to then it’s perfectly fine too.”

Lucy continued to smile up at him. “Eight o’clock at the Smokehouse,” she agreed.

She saw the way his eyes lit up. The genuine smile on his face making her smile wider herself. “Yeah? Sweet. Awesome. Okay, um well I better go or they’ll leave me,” he said starting to turn away from her before he turned back quickly. “I’ll see you tonight, Lucy.”

Lucy gave him a small wave before he turned and headed back towards the ambulance. She didn’t miss his excited fist pump before he climbed into the front seat of the ambulance.

\--

“Where are you headed,” Jackson asked as he hurried to catch up with Lucy before she could escape through the precinct lobby.

“The Smokehouse. I have a date, which I am late for,” she sighed looking down at her watch.

“Oh, Lucy has a date,” he played. “The Smokehouse, well that is fancy for a first date.”

“Who said it was the first date?” Jackson just looked at her until Lucy broke. “Okay. Fine, yes it’s the first date. He’s a paramedic from Malibu,” she explained to her friend.

“Ooh, Malibu.”

“Well, he just changed stations to one close to Mid-Wilshire. We ran into each other during shift actually.”

Jackson’s laugh echoed through the empty lobby. “You let him flirt with you on scene? Wow. The guy is gutsy. When can I meet him,” he asked quickly.

“Slow down there skippy. Let’s just see how things go tonight and move on from there. One date does not mean I’m going to marry the guy.”

“Who are you marrying,” Tim asked catching the last of her sentence as he and Pat walked around the corner dressed in their street clothes ready to leave.

“Uh no one,” Lucy said flustered tucking her hair behind her ear. She straightened her stance, her hands clasped together in front of her. “I just need to get going.”

“She has a date,” Jackson blurted causing Lucy to whip towards him quickly. She wanted to knock that smile off his face as he smiled happily at Tim and Pat. Instead, Lucy bit her bottom lip and looked down briefly before looking up at Tim. His brows were arched in question, his eyes holding the same wonder. She should have expected that.

“You go, Chen,” Pat cheered.

Lucy could not make herself look away from Tim until he looked away first. “It’s not that big of a deal honestly. He’s just a ‘friend’ from Malibu,” she tried to explain, trying to answer at least a few of the questions floating in his mind. “Anyway, I really have to go. I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow except Jackson, I will see you at home later,” she told the group before rushing out of the precinct and to her car.

Lucy pulled her car into the parking lot of the restaurant twenty minutes later. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” she said walking up to Kyle, who was standing on the sidewalk waiting. “We were swimming in paperwork. Better late than never,” she smiled towards him.

“I just got here myself, so you are good. We had a late call and the guys let me slip away. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked an old friend of mine to join us tonight. He actually works at Mid-Wilshire so maybe you can make an ally down there.”

Lucy shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t mind. It’s always good to meet new people,” she agreed. Maybe it was someone she already knew, and the dinner would go smoothly. She did not know the whole precinct, but she did know a large portion of the people so there was hope.

“Well, that’s great because here he comes,” he said looking over her down the sidewalk. He raised his hand waving at the man.

Lucy turned around slowly to peak at the man approaching them. The smile on her face fell as her eyes took in the man walking towards them. Tim was walking towards them, his own smile faltering a bit when his eyes landed on her. She was actually looking forward to this dinner, but now dread pooled in her stomach.

“How ya been man,” Kyle said shaking Tim’s hand once he walked up to them.

“Good,” he said shortly, his eyes staying on Kyle avoiding Lucy’s, the smile on his face strained. “How about you?”

“Good, man. It’s great to see you again. Let me introduce you to Lucy,” he said gesturing towards her. “She recently transferred to Mid-Wilshire and I wasn’t sure if you two had met or not.”

Tim refocused his attention on her. “No, I don’t think we’ve met,” he said aloud for Kyle to hear, but his eyes told a different story. A story that would stay only stay between them.

“No, we haven’t,” she echoed.

Tim’s hand extended her way. “Tim Bradford,” he introduced trying to play the part.

Lucy shook his hand slowly. A flash of their latest rendezvous ran across her mind. His hands doing ungodly things, but she had to suppress that. “Lucy Chen,” she replied, playing her own false part of the play.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lucy. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Finally! The first part of this is a dream, I guess to show how much Tim is finding out that he cares for Lucy instead of this "relationship" being one-sided.  
> What do we think about Kyle? I'm not sure how long he'll be around or if he'll stay around just yet. I know how I want to end the fic, but it's about the journey of getting where I want to be, which I am still not sure about.  
> Something "big" will happen either in the next chapter or the one after that, depends on if I get another idea. 
> 
> As always...thanks for reading!! All comments and kudos are appreciated! I might not reply to everyone, but they keep this train going! Hopefully, the next chapter will be out sooner than later!


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